Aybar homers twice as Rays win in Baldelli return

SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Willy Aybar homered twice and drove in four
runs and Shawn Riggans had a three-run homer to help Edwin
Jackson earn his fourth consecutive win as the Tampa Bay Rays
routed the Seattle Mariners, 11-3, Sunday afternoon.

The Rays' Rocco Baldelli came off the 60-day disabled list
earlier in the day and made his first big league appearance
since May 15, 2007, singling in a run in the third that gave the
Rays a 4-1 lead. Baldelli had been sidelined with a
mitochondrial disorder since spring training.

"I don't know if I was excited or what, but it was fun and it
was a happy day for me, and I think for a lot of people - my
family and friends and everyone," said Baldelli, who appeared in
just 35 games for the Rays last year before going on the
disabled list. "There were some scary times, but all of that is
behind me now, hopefully."

Baldelli was activated when Carl Crawford went on the 15-day
disabled list with an injury to the middle finger on his right
hand suffered while batting in Saturday's 11-inning, 8-7 victory
over the Mariners.

The win was the 71st of the year for Tampa Bay (71-46), marking
a franchise high, and gave the club a 4 1/2-game lead over the
Boston Red Sox (67-51) in the battle for first place in the
American League East. Tampa Bay has won 10 of its last 12 games.

Jackson (9-7), who had shut out the Mariners on just two hits in
eight innings in his only other start against them on April 18,
limited Seattle to seven hits and one run in seven innings. The
24-year-old righthander struck out two and walked two.

"It always starts with pitching for me," Rays manager Joe Maddon
said. "He (Jackson) gave up runners along the way, but he got
out of jams. His composure is improved. The ability to stay out
of the big inning is huge."

The first homer by Aybar, who was batting just .141 in his
previous 20 games, staked the Rays to a 3-0 lead in the second.
His second blast, a solo shot, came off reliever Jake Woods in
the seventh. It was the first multi-homer game of his career.

Riggans' homer, the fifth of the year by the seldom-used reserve
catcher, came off starter R.A. Dickey (3-7) and gave the Rays an
8-1 advantage in the fifth.

"I think I swung and missed five times, so I figured the odds
were in my favor that one of those balls was going to hit my
bat," said Riggans, who has played in only 18 of the last 86
games.

"Willy got things going and Riggans kept driving in runs,"
Maddon said. "Willy just comes ready to play every day and I
appreciate that. Riggans keeps coming through with runners in
scoring position."

Dickey lasted five innings, allowing eight runs and eight hits
while walking four and striking out six, and dropped to 0-5 for
his career at Safeco Field.

"I had a swing-and-miss knuckleball today," said Dickey after
one of his poorest outings of the season. "I just wasn't able to
get ahead as much as I would have liked with it. Two three-run
home runs to the eight and nine guys, that tells the story. A
lot of times they pop those up."

Jose Lopez, who left the game in the fourth inning in favor of
pinch hitter Tug Hulett, trimmed the lead to 3-1 with his 10th
home run leading off the second.

B.J. Upton singled home Akinori Iwamura, who had walked, stolen
second and advanced to third on Lopez's fielding error, to make
it 5-1. The error may have been a reason Lopez was pulled from
the contest, but Seattle manager Jim Riggleman would not discuss
it after the game.

"I don't think I really want to address that right now,"
Riggleman said. "Obviously when you take a regular out in the
middle of a game, it's going to raise questions, but I haven't
talked to Jose yet. After I talk to him, I'll find the right
words to explain it."

Mariners rookie catcher Jeff Clement had a particularly rough
day, tying a club record with three passed balls as well as
committing an error and grounding into a double play.

The Rays played without star rookie third baseman Evan Longoria,
who missed his third consecutive game with an injured wrist. He
is listed as day-to-day.

ALAT SEATTLE - SCORING UPDATETHREE-RUN HOME RUN BY SHAWN RIGGANS (5) TO LEFT WITH 2 OUT IN THE 5TH OFF R.A. DICKEY SCORED CLIFF FLOYD AND ERIC HINSKE.CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 8, SEATTLE 1DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: A IWAMURA (.281, 0-FOR-2, BB)